Rotary automatic sprinkler valve

ABSTRACT

An automatic sprinkler valve is provided comprising an upper chamber and a lower chamber communicating with the upper chamber through a supporting pipe which acts as part of the water flow route. A valve stem enters the upper chamber from below and normally seats against and closes the end of an inlet pipe entering the upper chamber from above. An adjusting nut positions the pipe against the valve. The valve is held in position by a meltable alloy which in turn is positioned on top of the lower chamber. A spray plate is rotatably supported to the bottom of the lower chamber and an angled spray nozzle is directed through the bottom of the lower chamber at the plate so that water discharging through the nozzle causes rotation of the plate.

United States Patent [191 Pak [ ROTARY AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER VALVE [76] Inventor: Se Bin Pak, 44, Sam-Sun Dong 3-ka,

Sung-Puk-ku, Seoul, South Korea [22] Filed: Oct. 15, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 406,240

Primary Examiner-Lloyd L. King Attorney, Agent, or FirmKane, Dalsimer, Kane, Sullivan and Kurucz 5 7 ABSTRACT An automatic sprinkler valve is provided comprising an upper chamber and a lower chamber communicating with the upper chamber through a supporting pipe which acts as part of the water flow route. A valve stem enters the upper chamber from below and normally seats against and closes the end of an inlet pipe entering the upper chamber from above. An adjusting nut positions the pipe against the valve. The valve is held in position by a meltable alloy which in turn is positioned on top of the lower chamber. A spray plate is rotatably supported to the bottom of the lower chamber and an angled spray nozzle is directed through the bottom of the lower chamber at the plate so that water discharging through the nozzle causes rotation of the plate.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 ROTARY AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER VALVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to automatic sprinkler valves and in particular to a rotary type sprinkler valve adapted to be fed by either a high or low pressure water source.

Automatic sprinkler valves are widely used in fire protection systems. Such valves commonly utilize a component formed of a low melting point material to control a valve which, in turn, controls a flow of water so that in the event of fire, the component melts allowing water to be discharged through the valve. Heretofore, such sprinklers either had to be fed by a relatively high pressure water supply or else discharged their water in a relatively close pattern and thus afforded only protection to a limited space. Unfortunately, high pressure water may not always be available particularly during times of emergency when the sprinkler valve may be called into use.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved automatic sprinkler valve which discharges water in a relatively wide pattern whether the valve is'fed by a high or low pressure water source.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are attained in accordance with the present invention by providing an automatic sprinkler valve comprising an upper chamber and a lower chamber communicating with the upper chamber through a supporting pipe. The supporting pipe also provides a passage for water from the upper chamber to the lower chamber. A valve stem enters the upper chamber from below and normally seats against and closes the end of an inlet pipe which enters the upper chamber from a point above the discharge for the support pipe. Means are provided to adjust the inlet pipe so that it normally seats against the valve and thus is closed by the valve. The valve stem is held in position partly by a meltable alloy which, when melted, causes the stem to fall away from the inlet pipe and thus permits water to flow from the upper chamber to the lower chamber through the support pipe. A spray plate is rotatably mounted to the bottom of the lower chamber and an angled spray nozzle is directed through the bottom of the chamber at the plate so that water discharging through the lower chamber causes rotation of the plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rotary automatic sprinkler valve in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view depicting portions of the lower chamber and valve stem support;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational sectional view of the present valve; and,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the valve rotor plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference is now made to the drawings wherein similar components bear the same reference numeral throughout the several views. Accordingly, in FIG. I, there is shown an automatic sprinkler valve 1!) in accordance with the present invention comprising an upper chamber 12 and lower chamber 14. Each of the chambers comprises a tubular enclosure having a closed top and bottom end. An inlet pipe l6 adapted to be connected to a water supply source has an end 18 which passes through an opening 20 in the upper chamber. As shown in FIG. 3, the pipe 18 and chamber 12 are provided with male and female threads respectively to permit the pipe to threadedly engage the chamber. A nut 22 is provided about pipe 16 and serves as a stop to limit the degree of penetration of pipe 16 within the upper chamber for reasons to be described below.

A pair of hollow supports 24 and 26 extend between the lower chamber 14 and upper chamber 12 securing the one to the other and, at the same time, providing a passageway between the interior of upper chamber 12 and the interior of lower chamber 14. A valve stem 28 extends into the upper chamber through the bottom thereof. The valve stem has at its upper end a partially spherical sealing portion 30 adapted to seat against and seal the lower end of pipe 18. In this connection, nut 12 facilitates adjustment of the pipe so that the pipe normally seats against the partially spherical portion 30 of the stem. Stem 28 comprises an elongated rod-like member which is supported in its normal position by a platform 34 formed of a solder or similar material having a relatively low melting point on the order of l50FL A plate 36 containing a plurality of vanes 38 is mounted for rotation by pivot 40 to the bottom closure 42 for the lower chamber. A passageway 44 extends through bottom closure 42 at an angle thereby defining a nozzle to discharge water from within the lower chamber at an angle against vanes 38 so as to cause the plate 36 to rotate.

In operation, under normal conditions, the spherical portion 30 of valve stem 28 serves to close the open bottom portion of pipe 16 thereby preventing the flow of water into the upper chamber. In the event of a fire, stem support 34 will melt causing the valve stem to drop, permitting water to enter the upper chamber and then flow from the upper chamber through support pipes 24 and 26 into the lower chamber. In this connection, a sealing flange 46 is provided beneath the spherical portion 30 to substantially seal the opening in the bottom of the upper chamber when the valve stem drops.

As water flows from the upper chamber into the lower chamber through pipes 24 and 26 it discharges through nozzle 44 whereby the water is directed at vanes 38 of rotary plate 36. The discharging water causes the rotary plate to spin about pivot 40 driving the water off in an enlarged spray pattern. The enlarged spray pattern is obtained whether the water flowing through pipe 16 is under high or low pressure since very little pressure is required to cause plate 36 to rotate.

Thus, in accordance with the above, the aforementioned objectives are attained.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An automatic sprinkler valve comprising:

an upper chamber having closed top and bottom ends;

an inlet pipe entering said upper chamber through an opening in said top end, said inlet pipe having an end disposed within the interior of said upper chamber;

a lower chamber spaced below said upper chamber, said lower chamber having closed top and bottom ends;

a valve stem extending through said upper chamber bottom end into the interior of said upper chamber so as to normally abut against and seal said pipe end;

hollow support means interconnecting the interiors of said upper and lower chambers and securing said lower chamber to said upper chamber;

spray means including at least one passage through said lower chamber bottom end; and,

stem support means formed of a low melting point material interposed between the top of the lower chamber and said stem adapted to support the stem in said normal position.

2. The sprinkler valve in accordance with claim 1 wherein said spray means includes a plate rotatably mounted to the bottom end of said lower chamber, vane means disposed about the top of said plate; and said passageway extends through said lower chamber bottom end at an acute angle whereby water exiting said second chamber through said passageway impinges said plate vanes at an angle to cause rotation of said plate.

3. The sprinkler valve in accordance with claim 1 further comprising adjustable stop means operatively engaging said pipe and upper chamber to position the pipe end directly over the stem when the stem is insaid normal position.

4. The sprinkler valve in accordance with claim 3 wherein said pipe and chamber top end openings are threaded and the stop means comprises a nut disposed about the pipe and adapted to engage surfaces at the top end of the upper chamber when the stem is in the normal position.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a pair of openings extending through said upper chamber into the interior thereof, said openings being positioned below said pipe end and said hollow supports comprise a pair of tubes each having a passageway therethrough extending from one of said openings to the interior of said second chamber. 

1. An automatic sprinkler valve comprising: an upper chamber having closed top and bottom ends; an inlet pipe entering said upper chamber through an opening in said top end, said inlet pipe having an end disposed within the interior of said upper chamber; a lower chamber spaced below said upper chamber, said lower chamber having closed top and bottom ends; a valve stem extending through said upper chamber bottom end into the interior of said upper chamber so as to normally abut against and seal said pipe end; hollow support means interconnecting the interiors of said upper and lower chambers and securing said lower chamber to said upper chamber; spray means including at least one passage through said Lower chamber bottom end; and, stem support means formed of a low melting point material interposed between the top of the lower chamber and said stem adapted to support the stem in said normal position.
 2. The sprinkler valve in accordance with claim 1 wherein said spray means includes a plate rotatably mounted to the bottom end of said lower chamber, vane means disposed about the top of said plate; and said passageway extends through said lower chamber bottom end at an acute angle whereby water exiting said second chamber through said passageway impinges said plate vanes at an angle to cause rotation of said plate.
 3. The sprinkler valve in accordance with claim 1 further comprising adjustable stop means operatively engaging said pipe and upper chamber to position the pipe end directly over the stem when the stem is in said normal position.
 4. The sprinkler valve in accordance with claim 3 wherein said pipe and chamber top end openings are threaded and the stop means comprises a nut disposed about the pipe and adapted to engage surfaces at the top end of the upper chamber when the stem is in the normal position.
 5. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a pair of openings extending through said upper chamber into the interior thereof, said openings being positioned below said pipe end and said hollow supports comprise a pair of tubes each having a passageway therethrough extending from one of said openings to the interior of said second chamber. 